The BEST Undertaking on Tuesday proposed to hire 225 buses on lease for a period of seven years
The BEST Undertaking on Tuesday proposed to hire 225 buses on lease for a period of seven years. Of the 225 buses, 100 will be air-conditioned (AC) mini buses, 100 non-AC mini buses and 25 midi buses. BEST officials said mini and midi buses could be very useful in crowded bylanes and compared to regular buses, will also be able to negotiate better on the congested city roads. The total contractual value for the seven years would be Rs 305.95 crore. After two unsuccessful attempts, BEST received three bids for supply of the required buses.
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It has proposed to hire the buses on a wet lease, which basically means that the contractor will have their own drivers and be responsible for the major maintenance of the buses. BEST would do minor upkeep of the vehicles and only have their conductor on board. The Shiv Sena-ruled BEST committee had earlier opposed the proposal calling it a move towards privatisation of BEST. The matter will be discussed once again.
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